About

Tinca Art was founded in 2010 by New York-based curator Catinca Tabacaru (born Bucharest 1981).  Gallery, art consulting firm, and agent to a select group of young emerging artists, Tinca Art’s challenging selections and eclectic aesthetic seek relevance in the present global moment.

As a gallery, Tinca Art presents contemporary work by young emerging artists.   The program focuses on strong conceptual pursuit and a desire to both interrogate and reflect a defining sense of the moment.  Process and aesthetics are approached with rigor as each artist seeks to continually refine their physical and conceptual output.  Relevance to the geopolitical environment and themes of time and spirituality run deep throughout the program.  The absence of a permanent physical space causes artists to work with different configurations and sensibilities for each show.  Artists are thus challenged to remain true to their craft while needing to adapt to ever-changing circumstances.  This constant motion evolves each artist’s work, simultaneously requiring a fortification of one’s identity and a fluidity of perceived limitations.  Tinca Art is committed to long-term relationships with serious international artists, expanding their careers and helping to promote their fascinating and important projects.

Coming up in 2013, Tinca Art will be presenting four artists — Rachel Monosov, Shinji Murakami, Justin Orvis Steimer and Gail Stoicheff – at SCOPE Basel, Switzerland.

Please see TincaArt’s Portfolio for featured projects.

Art is a powerful tool.  When wielded correctly, it improves the quality of a personal life, the productivity of a professional environment, and the potential of a business or cultural project. Art is also an investment, both financially and personally.  It is important to know what you’re buying and when you’re buying.  But most important is that you love it, connect with it.

Each collector and each project is unique.  Tinca Art’s approach to consulting is based on identifying and learning each client’s individual and specific needs.  We will assist you with every aspect of your art purchase and professionally manage the entire project.  Due to the significant industry discounts we receive and pass on to our clients, our service fees are encompassed within the retail value of the purchased art.

We have a strict confidentiality agreement to protect our collectors’ privacy.

Buying one or more works of art
TincaArt provides advisory services to individuals and businesses for the purchase of single artworks or for building a collection over time.  We will meet with you to understand your goals for acquiring art, your aesthetic preferences, and budget. We will evaluate your space for the placement of art in terms of physical dimensions, design and safety considerations. Using our wide range of sources including artists, art dealers and galleries, we will find art pieces that meet your needs and present these for your selection. Once selected, we will negotiate and purchase the art on your behalf.  We will assist with the framing, installation and documentation of the art.

Rotating collections
We will rotate your collection to breathe new air into your space.

Commissioning artwork
We will meet with you to understand your goals for the commission, your aesthetic preferences, and your budget. We will find artists who fit your particular needs, manage the artist proposal process, and present the successful proposals for your selection. Once selected, we will manage all aspects of the creation and installation of the artwork.

Art Fairs
Tinca Art supports the growth and evolution of art fairs by producing special projects and assisting in the curation and recruitment of exhibitors.  In 2013, Catinca Tabacaru is a curator for SCOPE Art Fair‘s exclusive Breeder Program, which aims to present today’s freshest and edgiest international art galleries. During New York’s Armory, Tinca Art’s curation of the front sculpture at SCOPE received extensive critical acclaim.

Charity & Cause Awareness
Tinca Art works with private foundations to produce exhibits that raise awareness, build publicity and fundraise.  From one night benefit exhibits and silent auctions, to managing organizations’ private and public permanent collections, to commissioning and managing traveling exhibits for awareness and publicity, Tinca Art is dedicated to working with charities to improve their public footprint.  We will manage all steps of the process including the conception of an exhibit, the scouting and committing of artists, the creation of the artworks, the shipping, storing, documenting and inventory, and the install and breakdown of the shows.  Since 2011, Tinca Art has been the exclusive curatorial wing of the annual Beethoven Festival ran by the nonprofit organization International Beethoven Project.

Design
Tinca Art collaborates with designers of private and public spaces to realize the art portion of their projects.  We meet with a design team to understand the specific space, budget and conceptual needs, create and present a selection of fitting artists and artworks, commission artworks, manages the technical tasks of collecting, moving and installing the works, and will manage the long term needs of any evolving pieces and collections.  See Tinca Art’s collaboration with 26 Street Design for the Smyth Hotel.

Each project is unique.  Please contact us for a detailed analysis.

Marketing
TincaArt provides consulting services for the use of art for marketing. Art sells. Art creates an image. Art will create an aura around a product which communicates the message put forth by the product in an implicit way. Because each project is uniquely tailored to the client’s specific needs, please contact Tinca Art for a consultation. Typically, we will assist in the conception of the marketing campaign, find the artists to execute the marketing goals and manage the creation of the artworks.  See Tinca Art’s ART WALL for New York-based men’s club CARBONnyc.

As the Owner and Curator of Tinca Art, Catinca Tabacaru’s exhibits are as much a reflection of her character and history as they are a commentary on the present global moment.  Catinca aims to affect the world and her shows seek to transcend the viewer past the person they came in as.  Each exhibit embodies multiple layers and reveals itself through consideration and dialogue. Even the spaces themselves will often evolve throughout the duration of a show.  Catinca’s practice indicates that just as in life, little should remain as it first appeared upon entrance.

Born in Romania and immigrated to Canada at age nine, Catinca Tabacaru spent her early years studying photography and art history. She earned her bachelor degree from the University of California, Berkeley (2003) and her juris doctorate and masters in international law from Duke University (2007).

Catinca spent her graduate school years working for the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  She calls upon this human rights background to shape the conceptual frameworks of her shows, which have included explorations of gender, war, imprisonment and civil rights.

After two years working as a litigation attorney in New York City, Catinca sought to combine her passions and answered a challenge to start a provocative nonprofit organization aimed at giving voice to women living in Muslim-majority countries through the medium of film (2010).  She became the first Executive Director of Women’s Voices Now and curated a collection of 99 short-films from 40 countries which was made freely available on the web and, at its peak, was watched in 176 countries. Simultaneously, Catinca started building an art career by curating shows for galleries and cultural institutions, and exhibiting at art fairs.

Coming up in 2013, Catinca is curating the art portion of the Chicago-based Beethoven Festival where she will be accenting local artists alongside an international repertoire.   In November, she will be at Peanut Underground exploring the effects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the lives of children through Brian McCarty’s WAR TOYS series.

Please see TincaArt’s Portfolio for featured projects.